Two Worlds Collide
by ForeverMineNow
Summary: The summer after the war brings unexpected friendship between old enemies. Will they find love in unexpected places? And what will happen when they return to Hogwarts for 7th year? Will everything fall apart?
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. I simply use her characters to vent some of my ideas. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Hermione grabbed her drink from the bartender and turned around to face the crowd. This was not her usual hangout. She would prefer to be home reading or relaxing. Ginny, however, had other ideas. The war had ended a few months before, and they were enjoying the summer at her parents beach house before heading back to Hogwarts for a final year. Even though her seventh year had been missed due to chasing Horcruxes, the students were returning for one final year to finish up schooling before entering "the real world"… whatever that meant.<p>

"Hermione!" Ginny came bouncing over to her.

"Having fun?"

"I'd have more fun if you would come dance with me!"

"Ginny, this isn't really my thing."

"Hermione! Come on! Pleeeease!" she begged.

"Fine."

Hermione threw back her drink and slammed it back on the bar before being dragged out to the middle of the dance floor. A song that she was unfamiliar with was blasting through the speakers. She quickly felt herself relaxing and the effects of the drink taking it's toll. She never drank. She was a light weight. Prior to her quick drink just moment before, Hermione had already had four other drinks, one being a shot. She concentrated on moving her body with the music. Twenty minutes later she was finding it very difficult to stand up. Ginny wrapped her arm around her waist and they stumbled towards the door. The bar was going to be closing up soon anyway. They stumbled to the curb and looked down the road both ways. Not a cab in sight.

"We're only two blocks that way. Let's just walk," Ginny said motioning down the road.

Hermione nodded and stumbled along with Ginny towards their house. About a block up, Hermione tripped on a piece of cement that was sticking up and stumbled forward, catching herself against a tree. Instantly Ginny burst into laughter, quickly followed by Hermione.

"Don't laugh at me!" Hermione wheezed as another round of laughter had her bending over holding her stomach.

"Everything OK ladies?" an amused voice asked from the shadows of the porch on the house in front of them.

"Oh my God! Someone saw that?" Ginny practically screamed and burst into another fit of giggles.

Hermione was quick to follow. She heard a light chuckle and footsteps coming down the steps.

"What are you two lovely ladies doing out all alone this late at night?"

Hermione took a deep breath to calm her and straightened up. Her eyes scanned from the fancy black dress shoes, up the lean, muscular torso, and then came to a screeching halt at his face. Hermione Granger was staring into the eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"Malfoy!"

"Granger…" Draco said taking a step back.

"Malfoy? What are you doing here?" Ginny asked confused as she stood up and smoothed out her skirt.

"I live here. What are _you_ doing here?" he asked in disgust.

"She lives here," Ginny sneered back and gestured to Hermione.

Draco raised an eyebrow before turning his attention back to Hermione.

"And how do your muggle parents afford a place such as this? Beachside is not cheap." His words practically oozed disdain.

"My parents are dentists. They make good money."

"What in bloody hell is a dentist?"

"Muggle teeth healers. You'd think with all that money you could afford a book," Hermione shot back.

"Listen here mudblood, I read quite well thank you. I am second in the class only to you. I simply choose not to waste my time learning the traits of muggles. It's quite useless to me."

"Draco…" Another form came down the steps towards them and Hermione quickly recognized him as Blaise Zabini, another Slytherin, and best friend of Malfoy.

"Granger," He nodded his head towards her, "Weasley. How are the two of you?"

Hermione's eyebrows came together in confusion.

"Since when do you care how we are?" Hermione snapped.

"Easy Granger. I come in peace. We're on the same side now."

"Ginny, can we go?" Hermione asked, turning towards her friend.

"Yeah. Uh, see you around I guess." Ginny waved quickly and her and Hermione made there way back to the house.

Draco stood on the sidewalk and watched the two walk away. His insides were flipping around, half in anger at Granger for getting lippy with him and half because he couldn't help but notice how good she looked. The months after the war ended had done her well. She had lost some weight, he assumed from being on the run for so long, and her dress had hugged her in all the right places.

"She looks good, yeah?" Zabini swatted his arm and walked back up towards the steps.

"She's a filthy mudblood."

"Draco, you're my best friend and all, but you gotta get over that whole blood issue. We all know it's a bunch of lies anyway. The Dark Lord beat it into our parents heads, and they proceeded to beat it into ours. Hermione is the best witch at our school. And we both know you think she's hot."

With that, Zabini left Draco to his thoughts.

The next morning, Hermione and Ginny dragged themselves out of bed, threw on bathing suits, and headed to the beach. It was fairly crowded and they set up their blanket between two other blankets. Ginny instantly stripped her cover up off and headed down the beach. Hermione laid back, pushed her sunglasses over her eyes, and closed them to rest.

It couldn't have been ten minutes later when a shadow fell over her.

"Look who I found…" Ginny trailed off.

Hermione opened her eyes to see Draco Malfoy gazing down at her.

"For the love of God, I can't catch a break!" She pushed herself up and straightened her bathing suit before turning to look at Malfoy and Zabini.

Zabini's shoulders were shaking slightly as he tried to contain a laugh.

"And what is it that you find so funny?" Hermioned asked him.

"You've got fire inside you, Granger. I like it!"

"If by fire, you mean hate to the core. Then yes, I'm filled with it."

"Hey now, hate is a strong word. We are on your side now, right Draco?" Zabini said nudging his friend who was still staring intently at Hermione.

"Yeah, same side."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "No quick remark or snide comment, Malfoy?"

"I…," Malfoy started and then glanced at Zabini who nodded lightly, "I'm sorry for my behavior yesterday. I will refrain from calling you names from now on."

"I must have heat stroke. Did _the_ Draco Malfoy just apologize?" She asked incredulously.

"Don't get use to it Granger. It won't happen often."

"Wow. I'm speechless. And that is hard to do."

"Quick. Take a picture. Once in a lifetime chance!" Draco joked, smirking at the brunette.

"So is this some weird type of Gryffindor/Slytherin truce?"

Zabini and Malfoy looked at each other and then back at the girls. Hermione glanced over at Ginny, who shrugged at her.

"Whatever. It's too weird to even talk about. I'm going in the water," Hermione said as she peeled off her cover up to reveal her black bikini and headed towards the beach.

Draco's mouth went dry as Hermione peeled off her cover up. Where had she been hiding that body all this time? She was thin, but not overly so. Her skin was creamy and smooth. The black bikini offset to her skin perfectly. As she walked away, his eyes instantly went to her ass, which was swaying in a way that effected Draco in ways he never thought would be affected by her.

"Earth to Draco." A hand waved in front of his face.

He tore his gaze away and glanced at Ginny who had been waving her hand in his face.

"Like what you see?" She smirked at him.

"What? No." He shook his head harder than necessary.

"Well pick your jaw up and let's go swimming."

Ginny and Zabini headed into the water while Draco took a minute to gather his thoughts. What on earth was happening? Never in his wildest dreams would he think that he would ever have feelings for Hermione Granger, the Gryffindor princess. He was the Slytherin prince sex God. He could have any girl he wanted. He never imagined that would be Granger, but he couldn't deny it. She looked edible in her bikini. Now that the Dark Lord was gone and his father was locked in Azkaban for life, he really did have no reason not to go after her. It wasn't like he would fall in love with her. She could be a nice toy for the summer though. He finally agreed with himself to have a little fun with Granger, seems she was so nicely located nearby his house, and headed towards the water. Zabini had picked up Hermione and was holding her up, threatening to throw her in and submerge her in water. Draco waded into the water as Hermione squeeled loudly and frantically waved her arms in the air. Ginny was treading water a little ways out and laughing.

"Blaise Zabini, you put me down right now! I don't want to get my hair wet."

Zabini laughed and glanced over at Malfoy and winked.

Hermione screamed as loud as possible when she felt Zabini toss her through the air. She clenched her eyes shut and held her breath, waiting for the smack again the water that would ultimately submerge her completely. A second later she felt water hit her backside, but two strong arms catch her.

"I got you."

Hermione's eyes snapped open and she found herself staring into Draco's face. He had a light smile playing on his lips. Not his typical cocky smirk, but a genuine smile.

"Uh… thanks."

One of his arms slid out from behind her legs and he let her body fall gently into the water, while leaving his other arm to support her upper body. His typical gray eyes had a hint of blue in them as they reflected the water. She couldn't tear her eyes away.

"You good?" his voice was practically a whisper.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She took a step away from him and her eyes ran down his naked torso. He was gorgeous without his shirt on. She couldn't deny it. His body was toned, but not too muscular. There was a slight V leading into his swim trunks. Hermione swallowed hard to try and clear her mind.

"Feel free to keep staring, Granger. You don't look so bad yourself." Draco's grin grew wider and he pushed through the water past her.

Her gaze followed him and she saw a large tribal tattoo that went from one side of his shoulders to the other. It was intricate and very Malfoy. She balled her fists as she had the sudden urge to reach out and touch him. What on earth was going on with her!


	2. Chapter 2

The four unlikely friends spent the day at the beach, splashing around, chatting on their blankets, and having a good time. Ginny had noticed an instant and strong attraction between Draco and Hermione and was quite intrigued to see where it would lead. They all made their way back towards their respectable houses as the sun started to set.

"I actually had a really good time today," Ginny said glancing over at their two new Slytherin friends, if that's what they were.

"So did I," Draco said glancing at Hermione.

"Hey, I'm starving. You guys should come over and we'll order pizza's and watch movies.

Blaise looked over at Draco before looking back at the girls. "Sounds good to us as long as Hermione doesn't mind. It is her house."

Hermione glanced up from her intent concentration on her shoes.

"That's fine." She avoided Draco's gaze, which she could feel burning into her.

Ginny and Blaise chatted a moment about the boys going back and changing and meeting them at Hermione's house in about twenty minutes. Hermione snuck a glance at Draco, who had his head cocked to the side and was watching her with a small smile playing on her lips. Finally, Ginny grabbed her arm and they went back towards the house.

As soon as they were in, Ginny and Hermione went their own ways to their rooms to get showered and changed before the boys arrived. Hermione slipped into a pair of sweat pants that were slightly too big for her and hung low on her waist and a black tank top. She brushed her hair out and let it hang loosely around her shoulders. She was in interrupted by the doorbell. Heading down the stairs she noticed that Ginny's door was still closed, so she must still be getting ready.

She swung the front door open to find Blaise and Draco standing there holding a case of beer. Both were wearing jeans, while Blaise had on a plain t-shirt, and Draco had on a white button down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows. She swallowed and stepped aside to let them in.

"You look comfy," Blaise joked with her as they both took in her attire.

"Uh, yeah. I didn't think I needed to dress up to watch movies and eat pizza."

"You look fine." Hermione looked over at Draco who had spoken and he winked at her.

"I'll take that to the kitchen." She reached out and took the case of beer and quickly turned and made her way towards the kitchen.

She slid the case in the refrigerator and closed the door to find Draco standing there.

"Jesus, Draco. You scared me," she said grabbing her chest.

"I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to."

Hermione looked up at him and took a step back, bumping into the counter behind her.

"Granger, why do I get the distinct feeling you are uncomfortable near me," he said taking a step closer to her.

"Uh… I… I'm not. I'm just… not use to you… being so nice." She stumbled over her words.

"Do I make you nervous?" He placed a hand on either side of her body so he was leaning towards her.

Her eyes were locked with his. She simply shook her head. Draco smiled wider and bent his head so it was right next to his ear.

"You intrigue me, Granger." His warm breath brushed against her ear and sent a chill down her spine.

"Why?" She managed to say.

"Because in all reality, you are still very much off limits. There aren't many things in this world that I'm told I can't have."

"Oh," was all she could manage as her heart sped up when his mouth brushed the edge of her earlobe.

"Plus…" he paused briefly to place a chaste kiss right below her ear, causing sparks to fly through her body, "you are incredibly sexy, smart, and witty; all attractive qualities in a female."

He pulled his head back just enough to look at her face. His eyes briefly dropped to her lips and her tongue instinctively came out to moisten them.

"You don't hate me anymore, right Granger? Because I most definitely do not hate you."

She slowly shook her head.

"Hermione! I ordered the pizza! What movie are we watching?" Ginny's voice broke through her daze and Draco stepped back, allowing her enough room to step away from him.

"Uh, just pick one. I don't care." Hermione's voice was shaky as she risked a glance back at Draco.

He held out his hand. "Shall we?" he said and motioned towards the living room. Instead of taking his hand, she nodded and walked by him out to the living room. Zabini was sprawled out across the couch and Ginny was sitting in the chair with her feet up on the coffee table. The only spot left was the other couch.

Draco passed her and handed everyone a beer, before sitting down in the center of the couch. He looked up at her and patted the seat next to him.

"Come on, Granger. I don't bite… yet." His devilish smirk made Hermione weak in the knees.

She cleared her throat and took a seat next to him. Their legs brushed and she felt that familiar electrified feeling shoot through her. He held out a beer and I quickly took it and drank down half of it. I looked up from my bottle and saw Draco watching me with an amused look.

"Shut up and watch the movie, Draco."

They ended up watching an old Jim Carrey movie that Hermione's parents had. When the pizza arrived, they all ate hungrily and settled in to finish the movie. When it ended, Hermione glanced over at Ginny to find her asleep in the chair and Zabini was lightly snoring. Draco had his head rested back against the back of the couch and his eyes were closed. Hermione slowly got up, trying not to wake him, grabbed all the plates and headed towards the kitchen. She quickly tucked the leftover pizza in the fridge and loaded the dishes in the dishwasher. She walked back out to the living room and picked up the beer bottles. They clinked together and Draco stirred, looking up at her sleepily.

"Need help?" his voice was thick with sleep.

"No, I got it. Feel free to lie down." She gestured towards the couch and turned to take the bottle back in the kitchen.

She dropped them in the recycling and turned around to find Draco leaning against the door frame of the kitchen.

"So not only are you adorable when you are nervous, but you are very domesticated," his eyes were still hooded with sleep and a lazy smirk was on his face.

"I did grow up in a muggle family, remember Draco? I'm sure you haven't forgotten my blood status yet," she said as she grabbed a dish cloth and wiped down the counter.

"Why are you so hesitant to trust me?"

She turned around and studied him for a moment and chose her words carefully.

"Draco, I don't want to be rude at all, but I have no reason to trust you. You fought against me, fired numerous hexes at me, and overall tried to kill me not long ago. That's hard to get over."

He stood up and walked around the island before leaning against it so he was only a few feet from her. He held out his arms causing Hermione to look at him confused.

"Come here."

"I'm not sure if that is a good idea," she said shaking her head.

"Hermione, come here." His voice was soft and he had used her first name, so she hesitantly stepped toward him.

He reached out and grabbed her waist gently and pulled her towards him until she was only an inch or so away from him.

"I'm sorry for whatever happened in that war. You may not want to believe it, but I was forced to do a majority of what I did. I never actually wanted to kill you."

"No?"

"No. And the whole blood status thing… that's kind of what we were taught from birth. Zabini's been working on me to forget it."

"So you don't think I have dirty blood anymore?" Hermione asked not believing it.

"I'm working on it." Draco's head fell to the side slightly as he watched her. His hands held onto her waist and his thumbs were drawing slight circles where her shit had ridden up and her stomach was exposed.

"Ok then. I'll try to not be so… whatever it is I am around you."

"Granger… I'm going to do something. I need you not to freak out."

Hermione's eyes widened slightly as he leaned his head down and pulled her up against him at the same time. Her eyes fell closed as his lips brushed over hers lightly. It was gentle, which shocked her, along with the tingles that shot through her lips and straight down her throat into her chest. His lips pressed more firmly and she couldn't help it when a slight moan escaped. This was encouragement enough as Draco slowly turned her body without breaking their lips apart and lifted her up onto the counter. He settled between her thighs and pressed his body against hers. His tongue ran along her lower lip and she opened her mouth as their tongues dueled. One of his hands released her waist and tangled in the hair at the back of her neck. She gripped his shirt on his chest as an ache in her chest got stronger. Suddenly he broke the kiss and took a step back, placing his hands on either side of her on the counter and leaning down, taking long deep breaths.

Draco tried to regain his bearings as Hermione sat silently on counter in front of him. His head was fuzzy. What the hell was happening to him? He had kissed plenty of girls, most of which were far more sexual than Hermione Granger, and never once did his head go fuzzy. This girl was toxic. The ache in his chest practically screamed at him to kiss her again and his hands tightened their grip on the counter.

"Uh, I should go wake up Ginny and make sure she goes to her room."

He looked up at her and she was looking everywhere except at him. She slid off the counter and then gently moved his hand and walked out of the kitchen. Great. Now he'd likely gone and made her thing he regretted it. He hadn't regretted it. He'd give anything to kiss her every day for the rest of his life. _Wait, what!_ Where had that thought come from. He was one day in and already addicted. He was in big trouble.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few weeks passed without incident. The new friends hung out randomly, but Hermione avoided Draco like the plague and Draco didn't do much to approach her again. They talked, but that was about it. Zabini was absolutely in love with the two ladies. He loved Hermione's sharp tongue and Ginny's endless energy. He looked at them as sisters. The summer was almost over and in five days, and they would all be packing their trunks and heading back to Hogwarts. They had all decided to go out to the club where they had all met for the evening. Draco was sitting in Hermione's living room next to Zabini waiting for the girls. Ginny and Hermione came down the stairs and stopped by the door. Draco let his eyes run the length of Hermione and felt that familiar tightness in his chest that he was trying to hide from these past few weeks. He was irritated with the fact that it just kept getting worse no matter how much he tried to avoid her.

They quietly filed out the door and made the short trek to the club.

It was almost one am and the four of them had been dancing the night away. They took turns dancing with each other throughout the night, although Hermione and Draco tried to keep distance between them when they were dancing. The boys excused themselves to grab a drink and Hermione turned to face Ginny.

"I have to pee! I'll be right back!" she yelled over the music.

"I'm going to go get a drink. You want one?"

"Yeah. Get me whatever you are having!" she said and turned to head towards the bathrooms.

The bathrooms were down a long semi-lit hallway at the back of the club. She practically did a happy dance to see there was no line as she made her way towards the door. Just as she was about to reach it, a hand wrapped around her waist and yanked her back into a solid chest.

"Draco?" Hermione asked looking over her shoulder to find a tall man with dark hair and a thing goatee around his mouth.

"Excuse me. Please let me go," Hermione said as she tried to yank herself out of the man's grasp.

"I've been watching you all night. I thought I'd never get you away from your two bodyguards." His voice was right in her ear and the feeling of his hot breath on her neck made her stomach flip.

"Let me go!" She yelled digging her nails into his hand.

The man abruptly shoved her through the bathroom door and locked it behind it. Hermione stumbled forward and caught herself on one of the sinks before flipping around to face the man. He stalked towards her and shoved her against the wall by the sink. Hermione felt tears build up in her eyes.

"Please stop," she whispered as his mouth laid slimy kisses along her shoulder.

His hand snaked down to her exposed thigh. She was wearing a bandage dress that was very short and tight. His hand ran up her thigh, pushing her dress up with it, exposing her dark blue thong underneath. Tears spilled from her eyes as she repeatedly asked him to stop and fight against him without success. He was much stronger than her. She let out a sob as his fingers pushed aside her underwear and she felt his finger slip into her. Nobody besides herself had ever touched her like this. She felt violated and her stomach churned.

"NO! HELP ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

She felt the smack before she even saw his hand raise. Her head jerked to the side as more tears poured down her face and the imprint of his hand still stung her cheek.

"Shut up and enjoy it!" the man growled.

His hand slid away from her and she almost sighed in relief when she heard the slight jingle of a belt buckle. Terror shot through her at the thought of this man stealing her virginity before she had even had the chance to offer it to anyone. She fought back but he slapped her again and she went limp as he lowered her to the dirty bathroom floor. She cried as he held her down with one hand and unzipped his pants with the other. Then he grabbed her underwear and ripped them off. Hermione screamed again as he jerked her dress up, exposing herself to him. She clamped her legs together and he chucked as he pulled himself out of his boxers.

"BLAISE! DRACO!"

Draco and Blaise had gotten a drink and were leaning up against the bar talking with Ginny about plans for the rest of the week. Draco glanced around and couldn't spot Hermione.

"Hey, what's taking Hermione so long?" he asked looking over at Ginny.

Ginny's brows wrinkled as she looked around the club for her best friend.

"I don't know. She should have been out by now. I'll go check on her. Hold this." She handed her drink to Draco and headed towards the bathroom. As she was coming down the hall she heard the most horrifying noise ever. Hermione's scream ricocheted off the walls and tore through Ginny.

"Hermione!" Ginny ran to the bathroom door and pushed, but it wouldn't budge. She didn't have her wand on her.

"BLAISE! DRACO!" Ginny's entire body shook as she tore back down the hall. She ran through the crowd to the bar where Blaise and Draco were standing. They both looked at her startled and sat there drinks down grabbing onto her shoulders.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" Draco asked leaning down to look into her eyes.

"Hermione… I think…something's wrong… she's screaming. I can't get in. The doors locked!"

Draco's stomached dropped and he glanced at Blaise before they tore through the crowd and down the hall. They heard her screams as soon as they hit the hallway. Draco's inside's clenched as she screamed his name. He pulled his wand from inside his jacket and pointed it at the door, hearing the lock click. When he shoved the door open his dinner almost came back up. Hermione was on the floor struggling against a large man as he positioned himself between her legs. Her panties were lying off to the side and she had tears streaking down her face. Him and Blaise flew at the guy. Blaise wrapped his arm around the guy's neck and held him back as Ginny ran to get more help.

Draco dropped to his knees next to Hermione who was sobbing to the point of hyperventilating.

"It's ok, Hermione. I'm right here. You're ok. He won't hurt you anymore." He reached down and pulled her dress down to hide her body as two security guards rushed into the bathroom. They quickly took the man from Blaise and dragged him out of the bathroom.

Blaise stood over Hermione and watched Draco brush her hair back from her face and whisper in her ear as she lay there limp and sobbing. The manager came in and Blaise took initiative with Ginny as they explained what they knew. They informed the police they would call in the morning for a statement, but they just wanted to get her home.

When Blaise gave him the all clear, Draco scooped Hermione up into his arms where she buried her head in his chest and gripped his jacket tightly. They all made their way out of the club and down the street. Ginny let them into the house and Draco didn't even ask permission as he carried her upstairs to her room. His heart was beating wildly in his chest. He sat her down on the edge of the bed and kneeled down in from of her. She was still breathing funny, but she looked up at him.

"God, Hermione, I am so sorry. We should never have let you go alone."

"I want to shower. I can still… feel him… on me." Her voice cracked trying to hold back more tears.

He nodded and let her into the bathroom, where he turned on the shower and got it warm before handing her a towel he found in the cabinet. He told her he'd be in her room waiting, and closed the door behind him. He collapsed on her bed, which smelled like freesia, just like her. His head was reeling. When he saw that guy over her and her tears, he practically saw red. All he could think was how many spells he could cast at this man. Then he remembered he was in a muggle club and held back.

The sound of her screaming his name was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. He would never let anything like this happen to her again. He wanted to protect her, and that scared him. He was a Slytherin and she was a Gryffindor. People wouldn't approve. Being around her these last few weeks had changed something in him. He loved being around her. She made him want to be a better person. He wasn't sure he wanted to give that up.

He glanced at his watch and noticed she had been in there for about twenty minutes. He walked over to the door and knocked.

"Hermione, are you ok?" He listened carefully, but he could only hear the sound of the water running.

He carefully pushed the door opened and glanced over at the glass shower stall. He could see her figure sitting on the ground. He walked over to the door and paused.

"Hermione, please answer me."

She let out a light sob and without even considering the consequences, he opened the door. She was curled up in a ball in the corner and was scrubbing her arms repeatedly. They were bright red from the repeated movement. Under normal circumstances he would have been slightly turned on by the picture of her in the shower, but this one just broke his heart. He stepped in and shut the water off before crouching down to her level.

"I can't…. get him off. I can feel… him." Her words came out choppy as she cried.

"Aw, babe. Come on." He gently grabbed her arms and pulled her up, making sure not to stare at her body.

They stepped out of the shower and he quickly grabbed the towel and wrapped it around her body. He led her back into her room and left her standing in the middle just long enough to go to her dresser and pull out a pair of cotton panties and a long t-shirt. He slid t-shirt on first and then let her towel drop before she took her panties and slid them on. He then led her over to her bed and pulled the blankets down. She climbed in and he pulled them up to her chin. As he turned to leave, her hand shot out and grabbed his hand.

"Please don't leave me." Her eyes were pleading and he nodded and kicked his shoes off and laid his jacket across the back of her chair before lifting the blankets and sliding in next to her. She gripped the front of his shirt and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and hugged her warm body to him. Her hair was still wet and soaked through the pillow and his shirt, but he ignored it. His hand rand softly up and down her back and he whispered calming words to her until he heard her breathing even out and realized she had fallen asleep. He contemplated leaving, but thought against it before closing his own eyes and drifting off.

"NO! Get off! HELP ME!" Hermione's screams ripped through the house and tore Draco out of his sleep. Her arms were flailing around and she almost hit him in the face. He quickly leaned over her and gently held her hands to her chest to prevent injury.

"Hermione, wake up babe. It's Draco. Come on."

The bedroom door flew open to show Ginny and Blaise standing there. He shook his head lightly as he continued to whisper to her. Her eyes snapped open and met Draco's before she burst into tears again. He pulled her to him and rocked her as she cried. Ginny and Blaise backed out of the room. Blaise smiled lightly at Draco before shutting the door again. Once she calmed down he laid back down facing her.

"Sorry. Nightmare," she sighed.

"Don't apologize." His hand came out and brushed some hair away from her face. She looked up and met his gaze.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Saving me. Staying with me." Her hand came out and rested on his chest where his heart was.

"You don't have to thank me for that, Hermione. I almost killed him when I saw what he was doing."

"Yeah, but the new Draco doesn't kill people." His hand stopped it's movements as it rested on the side of her neck.

"You're… perfect." The words came out before he could stop them.

A small smile formed on her face and a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He wasn't sure he was going to get to see that for a while.

"Except for the blood."

He rolled over and grabbed his wand off her night stand, rolling back towards her. He took her hand off his chest and ran his wand along one of her finger tips lightly, whispering a spell. A small cut in her finger formed. He squeezed her fingertip lightly and a drop of blood pooled there. She watched him carefully as he did the same to his and held it up next to hers before looking back up into her eyes before speaking.

"See… we're the same."


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione woke to light streaming through the window. She rolled onto her back and looked over at Malfoy. He was asleep on his stomach with his arms tucked under her pillow. He looked peaceful. She held up her finger in front of her. A light white line showed where he had cut her finger to draw blood. Her stomach fluttered with butterflies at his display. When he said those words, she felt all the past malice she felt for him fall away. He was looking at her as an equal and she couldn't be happier. Her body practically screamed for him when he was in the same room with her. The sad part was that she knew everything would change in a few days when they went back to Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy, Slytherin prince could never be seen with the Gryffindor princess. That would be equivalent to North Korea and South Korea getting along. The world would end. If Voldemort couldn't take them down, a relationship between them surely could. Harry and Ron would never approve. The thought made her sad and she let out a deep sigh.

"You ok?" Draco's voice was raspy and deep with sleep.

Her head turned and her breath caught at the calm grey eyes staring back at her.

"Yeah. Just thinking."

"Anything you want to talk about?" He pushed himself up onto his elbows so he was looking down at her.

"No. Just thinking about going back to school."

He groaned and let his head fall onto his arms. "We have four more days, Granger. Don't rush it."

She laughed a little and he looked back up at her.

"You look better this morning. How you feeling?" he asked reaching one arm out to rub her stomach lightly.

"I'm ok." She turned her head away from him as her smile fell.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" His voice was soft, as if he was scared she would pull away.

She didn't respond and just stared at the ceiling intently. She felt him move a little and then he was leaning over her with his chest resting against the side of her body. He brushed a hair out of her face.

"You don't have to. I'm here if you want to tell me about it though."

She looked up at him as he watched her and her chest ached again.

"He grabbed me from behind and shoved me in the bathroom. I didn't even think to scream at that point. I thought… he was just messing around." Draco's hand rested on her neck and he drew small calming circles on it with his finger. "Then he shoved me up against the wall and…" her voice broke.

"It's ok," Draco encouraged.

"He pushed my dress up and… touched me. I told him I didn't want him to."

Draco's hand fisted at the thought of another man touching the beautiful woman lay before him. He took a steadying breath and continued stroking her neck.

"I yelled out and he smacked me. I did it again and he hit me again." Her hand came up to rest on her cheek. "Then he ripped my underwear off… and… I knew it was all over. I screamed so loud."

"Did he…" Draco was too afraid to actually say the words. Thankfully Hermione shook her head.

"You got there just in time. I could feel him pressed against me. I was so scared. I'd never… I didn't want him…" her voice broke off.

Realization dawned on Draco.

"You're… a virgin?" he asked softly, not sure if he was crossing a line.

She nodded and covered her face in her hands as the tears broke free again. His heart broke for her and he gently pulled her arms away from her face and used his thumb to wipe away some of the tears.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, Hermione. He had no right to lay a finger on you."

"Why are you being so nice?"

Draco contemplated if he should just tell her the truth or hide his feelings a bit.

"I care about you, Hermione. I can't explain it because never in a million years would I have guessed that I would grow to have feelings for you, but you are amazing. You are beautiful, smart, witty, and you keep me on my toes, which is something I don't ever find. I've been fighting these feelings for weeks. I don't want to anymore."

He hesitated a moment before slowly lowering his head to hers. He gently pressed his lips to hers and smiled slightly when he felt her fingers weave into his hair. He didn't push for too much, as he didn't want to scare her after everything that had happened. He slowly broke the kiss before placing one more quick peck on her lips and leaning back.

"You just made everything all better."

He smiled down at her before pushing himself up and sliding out of bed. She watched as he walked over to the bathroom and winked at her before shutting the door.

Hermione and Draco made there way downstairs thirty minutes later to find Blaise sitting at the counter eating and Ginny unloading the dishwasher. They both looked up and smiled. Hermione slipped onto the stool next to Blaise and Draco came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her head. Ginny raised her eyebrows at Hermione who smiled and ducked her head.

"He finally won you over, didn't he?" Blaise said before shoving a bite of cereal in his mouth.

"Blaise!" Draco yelled smacking him in the arm.

"Yeah. He won me over."

"I'll kill you if you do something wrong, you realize that right?" Ginny said looking dead at Draco.

"Uh… yes."

Hermione snorted and Draco gave her a dirty look.

"So, uh, Harry called," Ginny said and quickly turned back around to the sink.

"Yeah? What did he want?"

"Uh, well… imagine his surprised when he stuck his head through the floo and saw Blaise sitting on the couch."

Hermione's mouth dropped open and she saw Draco look at her.

"They're coming over in an hour."

"WHAT!" Hermione yelled, jumping up.

"I may have sort of told them that you were upstairs with Draco."

"Oh god." Hermione let her head fall into her hands. Draco ran a hand over her back.

"He didn't seem mad. He seemed… confused. So they are coming over. I figured we'd have a cookout. We can send Blaise and Draco to the store for some meat and tell them softly before they return."

"Ugh, ok. I'm going to go get changed." Hermione got up and headed towards the other room and up the stairs. Halfway up she felt a hand on her waist.

"I can leave," Draco said from behind her.

"Why would you leave?" she asked turning around to face him and sat down on the step.

"If you don't want him to know about us, I can leave."

"I don't care if he knows about you. I'm just worried about how they are going to react. More so Ron. He's a bit… protective."

Draco leaned forward and Hermione fell back against the stairs.

"So you aren't ashamed of me?" he whispered, his lips only an inch away.

"No. Are you ashamed to have a muggleborn as a … what are we?"

"How about… girlfriend?"

Hermione smiled and nodded just as his lips connected with hers.

An hour later, the boys were off to the store and Ginny and Hermione sat in front of the fireplace on the couch waiting for the boys. A pop and a flash from the fireplace alerted them of their arrival just as Ron, Harry, Luna, Neville, Padma and Pavarti, Dean, Seamus, and a few other friends stepped through. The girls jumped up and gave hugs to everyone. Hermione hugged Harry and he whispered in her ear.

"Are you sure it's what you want?"

Hermione pulled back and smiled at him.

"He's changed."

"I don't love the idea, but I'll give him a chance."

"Thank you Harry."

The group sat down around the living room and started chatting. Twenty minutes later Luna broke the ice.

"So Hermione, you are dating Draco Malfoy?" she said in her dreamlike quality.

The entire room fell silent and turned their attentions to her.

"Uh, yeah. He's a lot different than you all remember." Ginny nodded in agreeance.

"Different how? He's a Deatheater," Seamus said.

"He switched sides if you don't remember, in the final battle. And he's different. I promise. You'll see."

"Where is he anyway?" Ron asked as he made a face.

"We sent him and Blaise to get the food for the cookout so we could have a minute with you."

"When will they be back?" Dean asked just as the front door opened to reveal Blaise and Draco carrying bags of groceries. Ginny and Hermione jumped up and went over to take a few bags. Draco looked up at her, searching her face for any sign of stress. She gave him a small smile. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek before turning towards the group.

"Hey." He gave a nod of his head and followed Hermione towards the kitchen.

Every person in the room was staring with their mouth open.

"Told you," Ginny said as she laughed and headed towards the kitchen.

Everyone got up to follow them. Hermione was leaning into the refrigerator putting the food away. When she stood up she felt two strong arms wrap around her neck and shoulders. Her mind flashed to the night before and before she could stop it a blood curdling scream escaped her mouth. The arms instantly let go and she burst into tears.

"Excuse me!" Draco's voice filtered into her head as he pushed his way through everyone in the kitchen and turned Hermione to face him.

He leaned down a little so he could look in her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"He… his arms… my neck… I'm sorry." Realization flickered in his eyes and he pulled her in to him.

Everyone watched as Draco whispered into her ear and rubbed her back in slow methodical circles. Draco looked over at Ginny who was standing with her hand on her chest and a worried look marring her features.

"What's going on?" Harry asked quietly.

"Love, do you want to tell him?" Draco whispered in her ear.

Hermione shook her head. "Ginny can. I want to go upstairs for a minute."

Draco looked over at Ginny who nodded and then Draco turned and led Hermione out of the room and upstairs to her bedroom. He quietly shut the door and then climbed on to her bed, opening his arms to her for invitation. She crawled to him and buried her head in his chest as they tangled their legs together.

"I didn't mean to react like that. I just… I like, flashed back."

Draco grabbed her chin and lifted her head up to look at him.

"Don't apologize. It's completely understandable."

"You're… perfect," she whispered.

He smiled lightly at her. "I'm far from perfect."

"You are to me. Thank you for being here. I know it can't be easy being surrounded by Gryffindors and Ravenclaws."

"I guess I better get use to it."

"You will?"

"Well I can't expect you to come to the dark side… Slytherin… now can I?" he smirked.

"I like Blaise."

"True. I'm sure you'll like some of them."

"It's going to be hard. Not everyone is going to accept us."

"That's ok. I don't need their approval."

"What about your mom? I know your dad is… out of the picture. But what about her?"

"My mom just wants me to be happy."

"Even if it soils the bloodline."

"I haven't proposed yet."

She smiled at him and he ran a finger down her jaw line.

"Baby… I'm going to kiss you now."

"Baby?"

"Mhmm." His lips met hers in a soft kiss.

She opened her lips a bit and nibbled on his bottom lip. Draco took the hint and opened his mouth as their tongues came together. A moan rumbled up from Draco's chest and Hermione smiled against his mouth. It had been a long time since she felt like this about another person. Draco couldn't remember the last time he had been happy. Hermione made him happy. The pureblood and the muggleborn. Draco wasn't sure if it would work out, but he would die trying to make it. His happiness depended on it.


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione stood rigid on platform 9 ¾ as students piled on to the train. Everyone had gone ahead of her and already found a car to ride in, but Hermione was dreading getting on board. Going on board meant she had to face Malfoy, and she wasn't sure if she was ready for that.

The day before they were to return to school Blaise and Draco had returned home to pack their trunks and say goodbye to their parents. She wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling that things were going to be different here. Far more different than either of them expected. She remembered back to her conversation with Malfoy about it.

"_Draco, can I talk to you?"_

_He turned around from his position at the sink where he had just rinsed his hands off and smiled at her. "Of course you can."_

"_I was just… wondering… what the plan is." Hermione fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt._

"_The plan?" _

"_For when we go back to school. I know you said that you don't need their approval, but… you can't tell me that it's going to be just like this."_

"_Oh." She looked up at him and he was looking around the kitchen and not at her._

"_If you want to just… call it quits… I'd understand."_

"_That's not what I want. I just… I don't need their approval, but I want this to be a good year for both of us. Maybe keeping it quiet for a while would be better."_

"_Yeah," she agreed quickly and gave him a quick smile before heading out back where Ginny and Blaise were hanging out._

The remaining few days had been good, but there was always an awkward tension between the two. Ginny had noticed it and asked Hermione, but she brushed it off. They explained to their friends, separately of course, that they were going to keep the relationship quiet for a while. Hermione had the gut feeling that "a while" meant forever.

The train's whistle blew and she quickly stepped on, took a deep breath, and started to make her way down the hall towards the car where all her friends were.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the little mudblood." Hermione's shoulder's squared and she turned around to see Theodore Nott standing just outside a car with Daphne Greengrass attached to his arm. Hermione rolled her eyes and went to turn back around.

"What? No witty comeback? Was all your Gryffindor courage Crucio'd out of you at Malfoy Manor during the war?"

Hermione flipped around with her wand out, pressing it right at Theo's neck. His eyes went wide and he swallowed hard.

"I'd shut your mouth if I were you. You don't know a thing about me or what happened to me."

Theo scowled at her and his eyes narrowed.

"You wouldn't dare harm me on the Hogwarts Express virgin mudblood. We all know that you hate to break the rules."

"Theo, quit dicking around and come play…" Draco Malfoy stepped out of the car that Theo was standing outside of and froze as his eyes went back and forth between Theo and Hermione.

Hermione clenched her jaw and avoided his gaze.

"Come on Theo. We have all year," Daphne purred in his ear.

"Remember that mudblood. Don't get comfortable now. Watch your back."

Hermione looked up at Draco to see if he would do anything. He had heard Theo call her a mudblood after all. Draco opened his mouth, glanced at Theo who looked over at him expectantly, and quickly closed it.

"I agree. She's not even worth wasting words on, right Draco?" Theo said taking a step back away from Hermione's wand and smirking at her.

Hermione's arm fell back to her side with her wand clenched tightly in her fist. She met Draco's eyes again, but he quickly looked away.

"Quite. Shall we?" Draco said before turning and walking back in the Slytherin car, leaving Hermione standing alone in the hall once Theo and Daphne followed him.

Hermione looked down at the ground… looking for the pieces of her heart that had just broken off.

* * *

><p>Hermione clapped robotically as another first year got sorted into Gryffindor. The tables weren't as full as usual due to the deaths from the war and the families who had chosen not to send their children back. Harry and Ron had asked her what was wrong when she had arrived at the car with a blank look, but she simply brushed it off and they went about talking about the new school year. As they now sat at the Gryffindor table in the great hall, Ginny kept eyeing her questioningly.<p>

The final student was sorted into Ravenclaw and after the cheers had died down, McGonagall stepped up in front of the all the students.

"We are so pleased to see the first years welcomed so warmly to their new houses. Now, I would like to announce this years Head Boy and Head Girl. As you are all aware, we have welcomed back the students who were unable to complete their seventh year due to the war. Within that group are two exemplary students who have repeatedly shown great courage, excellent leadership skills, and have excelled in all their classes over the years."

Hermione groaned inwardly. She did not have a good feeling about this. She quickly turned back to what McGonagall was saying.

"Our new Head Girl for this school year is Miss Hermione Granger from Gryffindor!"

The entire Gryffindor table stood, roaring their approval. Most of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff houses stood as well. Hermione stood and made her way towards the front, where she stood next to the headmistress. Professor McGonagall pinned a head girl badge on her robes.

"Congratulations Miss Granger. Now, onto our new Head Boy, Mr. Draco Malfoy!"

Slytherin went nuts. Hermione saw Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Seamus, and Dean clap along. She turned her attention to the platinum blonde head making his way through the crowd of Slytherins surrounding him. He saw Blaise clap him on the shoulder, Theo high fived him, and then Pansy Parkinson stood up, threw her arms around him, and kissed him. Hermione couldn't stop her reaction. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes burned with tears. Her eyes flew over to the Gryffindor table to see her friend's eyes wide and all pointed at her. She quickly looked down at blinked rapidly to keep her tears at bay. Draco made his way up to the front and stood next to Hermione. Professor McGonagall pinned a Head Boy badge to his robes and then asked for one more round of applause.

"Congratulations, Hermione." She barely heard his voice as he whispered it from his position behind her.

She slowly turned her head; jaw clenched, and met his eyes. His smiled faltered at the look of hurt burning in her eyes. Without a word she turned and made her way back to her table.

Hermione ignored everyone as she ate her dinner. A tap on her shoulder made her turn to see the Headmistress behind her.

"Miss Granger, please meet me outside in the entrance hall after dinner. I need to show you and Mr. Malfoy to your Head common room."

"Yes, Professor," Hermione replied before turning and groaning as her head fell into her hands.

"Everything alright Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"I just remembered that I now have to share a common room with the ferret."

"The ferret?" Ron asked looking at her concerned.

"Yeah," Hermione snapped before standing up and heading out to the entrance hall to wait.

* * *

><p>Professor McGonagall led them to a portrait off the first floor. Dumbledore smiled down at them.<p>

"Hello Professor," Hermione said smiling up at him.

"Miss Granger, looking lovely."

"Unity," McGonagall said as Dumbledore gave a quick nod of his head and the portrait swung open.

Hermione walked in first to a large common room. There were three couches in a u shape around a large fireplace. The room was decorated in black, gold and silver. On each side was a door. Over one was a lion and the other was a snake.

"I hope we can all get along this year?" McGonagall said from behind them.

Hermione turned and nodded at her. She said Draco do the same thing. The professor nodded, said goodnight, and turned and left with the click of the portrait closing behind her. Hermione picked up her book bag and turned toward her room.

"Hermione…" She stopped as his hand grabbed her shoulder. She flipped around quickly.

"Don't for one second think that us having to share this room is going to change anything," the words came out harsher than she wanted.

"I know you're mad about the train…"

"The train? You think it's the train that was the problem? I should have seen it all coming. It's my own fault for thinking for one second that you would actually have changed for the long run. Bring your friends into the picture and I'm quickly a filthy mudblood again." The tears were burning her eyes again.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. Please, just listen."

"I don't want to listen to you spout lies at me anymore. I should have known that you saying you wanted to keep our relationship a secret was just your way of saying you were embarrassed to be seen with me."

"I'm not embarrassed. I just don't know how to… I don't know how to handle _us_." He motioned between the two.

"Well, allow me to clarify for you. _We_ don't exist. There is no us. So that should make handling _us_ so much easier for you."

"What do you mean there is no us?" Draco looked slightly panicked.

"I mean that if you want to cuddle up next to someone… go find Pansy!"

"I didn't want to kiss her. She just did it," Hermione almost thought she saw the pleading in his eyes. "Don't do this."

Hermione swallowed hard trying to keep the tears that were threatening to fall any second at bay. His eyes were killing her. She could see all his emotions running freely in them.

"I didn't do this. You did this. Just one more thing you have to live with. And about the train… in case you forgot…" She reached in her pocket and pulled out her wand, using it to slice her finger open, she held it up as blood slowly dripped down, "We're the same."

With that, she turned and marched to her room, back straight, shoulders back until she slammed the door behind her. As soon as she heard the click she collapsed against it and allowed herself to slide down to the floor. She held her finger up in front of her. The red blood dripped down her finger onto the floor. And then she burst into tears.

Draco stood in the same spot as Hermione stormed across the room and slammed her door. His head fell forward and he allowed his eyes to close. What on earth had he done? It had been less than forty-eight hours and he had already ruined their relationship. He heard a sob come from the door Hermione had just slammed and felt his chest clench. He had to fix it. He would fix it. He had said she was worth it after all.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Hermione came out of her room to see Draco sitting on one of the couches surrounding the fire, reading a book. She was in her uniform, her hair was hanging down around her shoulders, and her eyes were slightly swollen from crying half the night. Draco looked up when she came out and quickly set his book down.

"Good morning," he called out to her.

She glanced up at him and gave a curt nod before turning towards the portrait hole.

"Hermione…"

She stopped and turned to face him. He could see the redness rimming her eyes and the slight puffiness of her eyes. He knew she had cried for quite a while.

"I know that you are mad at me, but we are Head Boy and Head Girl, so I thought we could meet up today and talk about rotations."

"That's fine."

She turned and walked out the hole without another word. Draco sighed and collapsed back on the couch.

The first day of classes was always Hermione's favorite. She loved opening her new books, which she had already read numerous times over the summer, and hearing the teachers explain what they would be teaching them that year. This year, though, she wasn't her usual spunky self. She sat quietly at her desk throughout classes. She had Harry and Ron in most of her classes, except for Ancient Ruins. It was her last class of the day and she ended up having it with Draco, Blaise, and a few other Slytherins that she was not fond of. Hermione met up with Draco during their free period during the day and avoided all personal questions, while rushing through getting a schedule made up for the prefects that night. Draco had tried everything to get her to talk to him, but it did not work.

Hermione had patrol that night with a sixth year Slytherin boy that she did not know. She waited fifteen minutes after patrol was to start and he had not shown, so she took off on her own. She started at the top floor and worked her way down. Hermione caught a couple fifth years making out on the fifth floor and deducted points before sending them off to bed. As she made her way into the dungeons she heard a noise like someone crying up ahead. She rounded a corner just past the Slytherin dungeons when she saw a girl sitting with her head in her hands. She approached slowly.

"Are you alright?" Hermione called out lightly.

The girl seemed to cry harder and Hermione approached and crouched down in front of her, resting her wand on the bench the girl was sitting on.

"What's wrong? Are you injured?" she tried again.

"No, but you are."

Hermione looked confused when an arm wrapped around her startling her and causing her to drop her wand. She was yanked bank with an arm around her neck and a wand pressed against her rib cage. She felt panic rise in her chest.

"I told you to watch your back mudblood."

"Th… Theo, please don't do this." She knew she was begging, but she felt the dark edges of panic creeping into her vision.

The girl in front of her lifted her head with an evil sneer on her face. It was Astoria Greengrass. Fear gripped Hermione.

"Is the little mudblood scared?" Theo sneered in her ear. She shivered at the feeling of his sticky breath on her neck.

"You will get expelled for this. I'm the Head Girl." Hermione tried to steel her nerves without much luck.

"Only if I get caught! Now, I must say Granger, you grew up over the summer. You have a nice hot little body here!"

Theo's wand hand reached up and cupped her breast through her robes. She squeezed her eyes shut as a tear came out.

"_Shut up and enjoy it!" the man growled._

_His hand slid away from her and she almost sighed in relief when she heard the slight jingle of a belt buckle. Terror shot through her at the thought of this man stealing her virginity before she had even had the chance to offer it to anyone. She fought back but he slapped her again and she went limp as he lowered her to the dirty bathroom floor. She cried as he held her down with one hand and unzipped his pants with the other. Then he grabbed her underwear and ripped them off. Hermione screamed again as he jerked her dress up, exposing herself to him. She clamped her legs together and he chucked as he pulled himself out of his boxers. _

"My father was a firm believer that mudbloods were only good for one thing. A good shag!" Theo pushed some of her hair out of his way and ran his slimy tongue down the side of her face.

She couldn't help the sob that escaped her and her legs gave out. Theo let go of her and let her collapse to the ground.

"That's right. Get down on your knees where you belong. It will be far easier for me to do this if you are down there anyway."

Hermione heard a familiar jingle and looked up to see him unbuckling his pants. Panic seared through her and she swung a leg out and kicked him in his knee, causing his legs to buckle and him to go down.

"Bitch!" Theo yelped as Astoria screeched and took off down the hall.

Hermione scrambled up while Theo was looking along the dark corridor for his wand and she limped as quickly as she could down the hallway. Her knee hurt from where she had landed on the stone floor.

"You can't outrun me, Granger."

Hermione looked back over her shoulder as she ran to see his shadow coming around the corner. As she turned she slammed into a wall of chest and another arm wrapped around her. A blood curdling scream ripped out of her.

"Hermione? What's wrong?" She looked up into Blaise's dark brown eyes and burst into tears.

"Oh, Granger!" Theo called behind them.

Blaise looked down at her again and realization settled on his features as he pulled Hermione behind him and raised his wand as Theo came around the corner.

"Oh Blaise, you caught the little vixen. Thanks mate."

"What the bloody hell do you think you are doing?"

Theo stopped and raised an eyebrow at Blaise.

"Well, I was about to get a good shag in before the little bitch kicked me. I suppose I can share though."

"You are lucky I don't hex your balls off. Are you stupid? She's the Head Girl!" Blaise yelled causing Theo's eyebrows to furrow together in confusion.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you fancied the girl the way you are sticking up for her right now."

"She's my friend, Theo. One that has been through more than you can imagine and you putting your hands on her without permission is called rape, not shagging."

"Since when do you care about filthy mudbloods?"

"If you forgot, Theo, that way of thinking almost got us all killed."

"You're serious?" Theo exclaimed incredulously.

"Yes. Now go back to the common room. I'll deal with you later."

Theo gaped at him before shaking his head and walking around them back towards the common room. Blaise pulled Hermione in front of him and hugged her.

"Merlin, Hermione. Are you alright?"

She gripped onto his robes as the reality of everything that had just happened and she felt her chest constrict.

"Blaise, are you coming back to the… whoa. What's going on?" Pansy Parkinson came walking down the hall towards where they stood.

"Pansy, I need you to help me."

Pansy eyed Hermione who was starring straight at Blaise's chest with her face frozen in fear.

"What's going on, Blaise?"

"We need to get her back to the Head dorm room. Draco will know what to do."

"Draco? Our Draco? Will know what to do with her?"

"I can't explain it all now, but he's the only one that will be able to calm her down from this."

"I've seen the way he stared at her today. I knew something was up. Ok, let's go."

Blaise stooped down and scooped Hermione up into his arms while Pansy picked up her wand and they walked up to the first floor where the portrait of Dumbledore was hanging.

"Oh dear," he exclaimed before swinging open without another word.

Blaise stepped through and could see Draco sitting with his back to them on one of the couches.

"Hermione, we need to talk…" Draco stood up and turned around halting mid sentence.

"You are never going to believe this," Blaise said walking around him and sat Hermione on the couch.

She stared straight ahead. Draco quickly kneeled in front of her, taking her face in his hands and brushing a few stray hairs behind her ears. He looked back over at Blaise and Pansy.

"What happen?"

"Theo attacked her. I think Astoria helped because a few moments before I came out of the common room, Astoria came in looking all panicked and ran straight to her room. I knew she had left with Theo, so I went looking. This one ran right into me in her fight to get away."

"Attacked her how!" Draco growled standing up.

"He didn't get far. Hermione kicked him. But, he mentioned something about wanting to get a quick shag."

Pansy's eyes widened as Draco turned bright red; a stark contrast from his usual pale tone.

"Why does this keep happening to her?"

"This isn't the first time?" Pansy asked quietly eyeing Hermione who was staring at the floor not moving.

"She got attacked at t nightclub over the summer by a muggle."

"Over the summer? You spent the summer with her?"

Draco looked over at Hermione and then back at Pansy not saying a word.

"Good for you, Draco. I always knew you had it in you to be a good guy."

Draco looked incredulously at her.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm only a bitch because it gets me what I want. Not even I think that raping a girl is ok."

"You're not mad?"

"What? That you fell for Hermione Granger?" she scoffed. "Why would I be mad? I have Blaise here. Just don't be a complete prat and ruin it. She seems like a decent person."

Draco ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head.

"I'm living in a twilight zone."

"Tell me about it mate," Blaise said smiling at Pansy.

"Let's go back to the common room and let him handle his girl."

"Thanks Blaise," Draco said, which Blaise nodded in response before ushering Pansy out of the portrait hole.

Draco turned and crouched down in front of Hermione again.

"Hermione, baby, please look at me. I need to know you are ok."

Tears rolled steadily down her face for a moment before she slowly turned her eyes to him. His heart broke at the look in her eyes.

"Oh Hermione." He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her, running his hands comfortingly up and down her back.

She began to cry harder and he scooped her up and sat her in his lap on the couch where he continued to hold her for over an hour. Finally her tears died down and he pulled back to look at her.

"It's going to be ok. I'm not going to let him touch you again."

"You can't… always be there." She tried to regulate her breathing unsuccessfully.

"No, but I can make sure he is very clear on who's girl you are."

"You… don't even care… about me like that. You made… that… clear."

"Hermione, look at me!" She looked up at him. Tears still pooled in her eyes, but did not fall.

"You are crazy if you think I don't care about you. I care about you far more than I care to admit out loud because it borderlines on scary. I will not let anything happen to you. You are my girl and I am the only one allowed to touch you."

"Your girl?" she practically whispered the words.

"Yes, unless of course you object." He smiled lightly at her.

"A secret?"

"Maybe for a little while. Let me handle things with Theo first. Then I'll shout it in the middle of the Great Hall if you wish."

"I missed you."

He smiled a real smile, not his famous sneer, but a real smile and brushed a hair behind her ear.

"I missed you too."

He leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly against hers before pulling back.

"What do you say we go to bed?"

"We?"

"You don't think I'm going to let you sleep alone, do you?" She shrugged. "Well, I'm not. Come on."

She took his hand after standing up and followed him up the stairs and into his room. It was decked out in emerald greens and silvers. He had emerald green silk sheets on his bed. He went to his dresser and pulled out a long t-shirt and handed it to her. Hermione went into the bathroom and washed her face and slid into the t-shirt. It fell to just above her knees. She walked back out into his room and sat her robes on an empty chair. He was already lying in bed in a pair of pajama pants.

"Have I ever told you that I absolutely love you in my clothes?"

She shook her head and climbed onto his bed. She curled up in a ball with her back to him and pulled the sheet up around her tightly.

"Oh no you don't." He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her onto her back and was leaning over her. "You don't get to sleep in my bed and not let me hold you."

"Draco…" He put a finger up to silence her.

"Don't even think about making excuses. You're here… I'm here. I want to hold you. Please."

She watched him carefully for a moment before nodding. He smiled and leaned down to her and pressed his lips to hers. Hermione brought her arms up around his neck, weaving her hand in his hair and pulled him harder against her. A low grumble sounded from deep in Draco's chest. His hand came up to rest on her hip, drawing small circles on her bare skin as the shirt had rode up to expose her panties. They pulled away breathlessly a few moments later.

"We should stop." Draco nodded as he said it.

"Why?"

"Because you are in no state to go any further and if we do, I'm not sure I can stop."

"Thank you."

He paused and looked at her confused.

"For always knowing what I need. You haven't known me that long and yet you know better than anyone."

"Well, what can I say; I'm quite addicted to you, Granger."

"I quite love the feeling of your lips on me."

He grinned devilishly and dipped his head to her neck. She felt him lay a few kisses along her collar bone before his tongue traced a path back up to her ear. Goose bumps erupted all over her body. He nipped gently at the spot behind her ear causing her to groan. He placed two more kisses there and then pulled away, lying down on the bed and pulling her to him. She wrapped her arm around his chest; laid her head on his shoulder, and threw one leg over his.

"You are going to kill me," he groaned.

She tilted her head up and smiled at him before laying a kiss on his neck, cuddling against him, and closing her eyes to welcome sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**AUTHORS NOTE: Lemons in this chapter. Be aware! Nice and juicy!**

* * *

><p>Hermione threw herself into her studies over the next few weeks. Draco had somehow made it clear to Theo that he was not to come near Hermione, as Theo had not even glanced at her since the whole incident. Blaise was openly friendly with Hermione, as was Pansy, which freaked her out a bit. She and Draco kept their relationship quiet, only spending the evenings together alone in their common room. Although she was completely content with Draco, she had begun to get an itch for more over the last week. She didn't want to hide him. She wasn't embarrassed by him. Her friends knew about him and accepted him, but something kept him from wanting to announce it.<p>

They were both sitting in the common room on opposite couches reading when Hermione closed her book and looked over at him.

"Why haven't you told anyone?"

Draco glanced up from his page briefly before going back to it.

"What do you mean? Blaise and Pansy know."

"You said that you just needed a bit of time to put Theo in his place and then we wouldn't have to hide anymore."

"It's only been three weeks, Hermione."

"How long are you going to wait?"

Draco sighed and closed his book, looking up at her.

"I don't know."

"Well, I don't like hiding."

"What would you like me to do?" he snapped.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"I would like for you to make a decision. You either want to be with me or you don't. It's not that hard!"

"It's not that simple either! It's not normal! Slytherin does not date Gryffindor."

Hermione's mouth dropped open and she quickly stood.

"Well then they don't have to." Hermione turned towards her room, but was stopped as Draco grabbed her and flipped her around.

"Don't pick a fight with me about this."

"Oh well that's rich. It's my fault that you don't want to tell your friends?"

"That's not what I meant! I just… I don't know how people are going to take it."

"So this is about your reputation. You are worried people won't look at you like the scary villain I know you aren't. You're worried that nobody will care anymore. Well… it looks like you have a decision to make, doesn't it?"

"What… what do you mean?"

She took a step back out of his arms so there was a space between them.

"You either admit to our relationship and possibly, although I doubt it, lose some of your 'friends', or you lose me. I guess I'll see if I am as important to you as you say I am."

She turned around and went up to her room. She quickly prepared for bed. As she lay there, she couldn't stop her heart from pounding in her chest. A large part of her feared that he wouldn't choose her. No matter how much she tried to hide it that would destroy her.

* * *

><p>The next day Hermione made her way down to breakfast. It was Saturday, so she had slept in a bit and found that Draco was no where to be found when she emerged from her room. As she walked into the Great Hall, she spotted Harry, Ron, and Ginny sitting together eating. She made her way towards them, past the Slytherin table. She glanced up at briefly locked eyes with Draco, who was sitting beside Blaise and Pansy. Blaise nudged Draco's arm and gave him a pointed look, to which Draco simply turned his gaze to his plate. Hermione shook her head and joined her friends.<p>

"So Hermione how was your evening?" Ginny asked.

"Fine. I went to be early."

"You and Draco ok?"

"I don't know."

Harry's eyebrows shot up in question.

"You don't know? Did he do something?" Harry asked and Ron nodded as he shoved another bite of eggs in his mouth.

"No. It's what he didn't do."

"Uh huh. Ok then."

They ate in silence, only throwing out ideas occasionally of what they could do with their day. Ron and Harry talked with some of the other boys about playing a game of Quidditch and Ginny jumped right in. They turned to look at Hermione.

"I'm probably going to spend the day in the library."

Harry laughed and nodded. Ron mumbled something under his breath and finally put his fork down on his empty plate.

"Uh, Hermione," Harry said looking over her shoulder. The rest of her friends had fallen silent.

"What?" Hermione looked up from her book and saw his face.

"Hermione?" She froze as she noticed that the entire Great Hall had fallen quiet as well and that everyone, including the teachers, was staring at her.

She slowly turned around to see Draco standing behind her. She raised her eyes in question. He held out his hand. She looked at it and then back up at him. He smiled lightly, never breaking eye contact. She hesitantly reached out and took it, allowing him to pull her up on her feet. He took a step back allowing her to step away from her seat. She looked at him questioningly.

"You."

"Me?" she asked confused.

"You said I had to choose. I choose you."

Hermione's eyes widened and she glanced around. Blaise had a smirk on his face and Pansy was grinning like a fool. Hermione glanced at the teachers table and saw McGonagall had her hands clasped on her chest. She turned back to Draco.

"Me?" she asked again to clarify.

"Always you."

Without another word he gripped her hand, pulled her towards him, and wrapped his arms around her waist. People gasped from all around the room.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

"What? The shock?"

"The sound of all the ladies hearts breaking now that they know I'm taken."

Hermione snorted. "You are so full of yourself."

"Always you, Hermione."

She couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. One of his hands came up and brushed the hair away from her face and cupped her neck in his hand. He gave her one more breathtaking smile before he pulled her to him and pressed his lips against hers. She gripped the front of his robes and kissed him back forcefully.

"Get it, Draco!" Hermione broke the kiss and laughed as she looked over at Blaise who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Blaise laughed and made a few cat calls, which then erupted over the entire Great Hall. Hermione blushed and buried her head in Draco's chest. He laughed and kissed the top of her head.

"What do you say we spend the day together?" he asked.

She peeked up through her hands, which were not covering face and nodded. He motioned for her to follow and took her hand as they walked out of the Great Hall and he led her back to their common room. Once inside, he didn't stop, but continued up to his room and shut the door behind them. He pulled her over to the bed and pushed her down before climbing over her.

"What are we doing here?" she laughed.

"I haven't been able to kiss you very much since yesterday morning. I plan on abusing your lips for a little bit in a nice snogging session."

"Oh really? I think I can handle that."

Draco smiled down at her before lowering his lips to hers. It was soft and Hermione felt the familiar surge of chills flow through her body. His lips began to move slowly against hers, alternating between her top and bottom lip. He nibbled lightly on her bottom lip and then soothed it with his tongue. Hermione opened her mouth allowing him in as their tongues massaged each others. She reached down and untucked his shirt from his pants and slowly ran her fingers delicately up his torso. His breath hitched and he broke the kiss. The look in his eyes ignited something inside of her. She splayed her hands on his bare back and pulled him back towards her. His mouth came down on hers, but this time it was hungry and brutal. She ran her nails down his back causing him to groan against her mouth. His lips broke free from hers and trailed kisses down her jaw and across her neck. Hermione's hands worked quickly to unbutton his dress shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. He broke away from her neck long enough to toss the offending clothing onto the floor. She felt his hand come up and slide under her shirt, grazing across her stomach. She gasped when his fingers lightly skimmed across her bra, causing her nipple to harden instantly. Without even thinking, she ran her hands down his stomach to his waist and flicked the button open. Draco pulled back quickly and looked down at her.

"Hermione…"

"Shh…"

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know."

"I didn't… bring you up here because I wanted that. We don't have to do anything."

"Are you saying you don't want me?" she let her hands fall to her sides as her chest rose and fell rapidly.

"Of course not. I've wanted you since day one. I just don't want to take advantage of you. Not after everything that happened."

"You aren't. I want to."

He hesitated as he searched her eyes for something.

"Please, Draco. I want this with you."

He watched her for a moment longer before sitting up and bringing his hands to the bottom of her shirt. She lifted herself up a bit and he quickly slid the shirt over her head. His hands trailed down her stomach and back up, sliding behind her and unclasping her bra. He pulled it down her arms and Hermione brought her arms up to cover herself before he stopped her.

"Don't do that. You're gorgeous."

He bent forward and kissed her stomach tenderly. Hermione ran her hands through his hair and he smiled up at her. Kissing slowly up her stomach, Draco brought one hand up and cupped her breast in his hand, running his thumb over the nipple. Hermione hissed and arched up. He quickly bent down and placed his mouth on the other.

"Oh Merlin, Draco!" Her eyes nearly rolled back in her head.

He released her breast from his hand, while taking turns on each with his mouth, allowing his hand to trail down her stomach. He quickly unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans and sat up again, breaking away from her chest. He gripped the sides and pulled her jeans and panties down, where she kicked them onto the floor. His eyes scanned down her body and back up.

"You are perfect," he said bringing his mouth to hers again.

Hermione crushed her lips to his in a passionate, heated kiss. Their tongues dueled and her hands roamed his upper body. His right hand roamed down her body and she felt him grab one of her thighs and gentle nudge her legs apart. Without breaking the kiss, he ran one fingers along her slit. Hermione broke the kiss and moaned. He smiled at her as he slowly slid one finger into her dripping wet center.

"Christ, you're tight." Draco groaned and rubbed his body against her side.

She felt his hardness rub against her and reached for him. He shook his head and pulled his body back slightly.

"This is about you." His voice was throaty and raspy with need.

He pulled his hand out and slowly slid two in. Hermione arched into his hand, pressing down for more.

"Oh God, Draco. Don't stop!"

"He smiled and latched his mouth onto her breast again. His thumb pressed lightly on her bundle of nerves and she cried out. His hand worked in and out rapidly.

"Draco… please…"

"Hermione… I want to taste you," he said withdrawing his hand from her.

She stopped thrashing and looked up at him.

"It's ok. I promise you'll love it."

He slid her up farther on the bed and crawled between her legs. Her knees fell open instinctively and he smiled up at her. He kissed his way up one thigh, breaking away at the last moment. He lifted her leg over his shoulder and did the same with the other, reaching around and gripping her hips. He looked up at her once more and saw pure desire in her eyes before turning his attention back to her center.

He lowered his head and ran his tongue all the way up. She cried out and gripped onto the sheets next to her. He smirked and then did it again.

"Oh!" Hermione gasped.

Not allowing her any recovery time, he latched his mouth right onto her bundle and sucked, flicked, and licked. She cried and instantly he felt her body go rigid with her first orgasm. He didn't slow down as her juices flowed, lapping them up. She was so sweet and it caused his erection to twitch inside his pants. She came down from her first orgasm and he slowly slid two fingers inside of her, teasing her bundle with his tongue. Her body rocked against his mouth and he hummed. Hermione arched her back and one hand came up to her breast as she massaged it. Draco almost came in his pants at the sight. He broke his mouth away.

"Come again for me, baby."

He brought his mouth back to her and sucked on her clit as his hands worked in and out of her.

"I feel… I… I don't…" her head thrashed from side to side and her hands came down, running through his hair and pressing him harder to her.

He slammed his fingers in and out of her while his tongue flicked repeatedly over her clit.

"Mmmm…" he moaned into her center.

Hermione's eyes almost bugged out of her head as the vibration from his moan sent shivers straight through her. She felt that spring in her stomach tightening again.

"Dra… I'm gonna…"

He curled his fingers inside her to brush against the sensitive hidden spot deep in her and sucked hard on her clit just as her world exploded around her. She cried out his name and rocked her hips against his as he held her in place with his hand on her hip. He licked up her juices until she came down from her high and then broke away, kissing the inside of her thigh twice. She reached down and pulled him up towards her, as he settled his body between her legs. She grabbed his face and pulled him down, smashing her bruised lips against his. She could taste herself on him, and it turned her on even more. She arched her hips towards him and rubbed against his erection roughly.

He pulled away gasping for breath and rested his forehead on her chest.

"What's wrong?" she asked shyly.

He looked up at her incredulously.

"What wrong? Nothing is wrong, love. I am overwhelmed by your beauty. Watching you cum was probably the most erotic, sexy, beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life."

"Now it's my turn," she purred, reaching down and unzipping his pants.

He pushed his pants down and kicked them off the end of the bed and settled between her legs again. His length pressed against her and she moaned. He was bigger than she had expected, which worried her. He must have seen it because he smiled at her.

"We don't have to do this."

"As if you could stop now." She grinned at him.

"If you wanted me to, I could. I want you to be ready."

She pulled him down for another kiss, but this one was slow and heartfelt. She broke away and ran her hands down his body.

"I am ready."

He nodded and reached over to the bedside table, grabbing his wand and muttering a spell over her stomach.

"Don't need any little Draco's running around quite yet."

She couldn't help but smile at him.

"What?" he asked pausing.

"You said yet."

He smiled at her and brushed the hair away from her face.

"Well, I don't plan on letting you go anytime soon."

He kissed her gently, stroking her skin with his fingertips, enjoying the feeling of their bare skin pressed together. His hand grazed lightly down her side, over her breast, and to her thigh. He gripped it and pulled it up around his hip. Hermione followed suit with her other hip and wrapped her legs around his waist. She could feel the head of his penis pressed against her opening and moaned slightly.

"Merlin, you are so warm and wet."

"I want you, Draco."

"This is probably going to hurt."

"I know. I'm ready."

He nodded and slowly pushed his hips forward, sinking into her slowly. Hermione gasped as her body stretched to accommodate him. He watched her carefully as he pulled back out and pressed in again. This time he went a bit farther. He did this a few times until he felt the barrier pressed against his head.

"Are you sure?" he rasped trying to maintain some level of control.

"Go Draco," she whispered in his ear.

He locked eyes with her and, with one swift thrust, buried himself to the hilt in her body. Her face scrunched up in pain and her eyes squeezed shut.

"Oh fuck! Hermione, you are so tight."

Her nails dug into his back as the pain ebbed away slightly. Draco slowly started to move and the pain she felt changed to pleasure as he rubbed inside her. Her face relaxed and she looked up at him. He was watching her as his body moved slowly in and out. Her walls were so tight around him that he was gasping for breath.

"I'm ok."

He kissed her roughly and pulled her thigh higher around his waist as he began to move a big quicker. He kept the thrust long and deep rather than quick and she began to moan against his mouth. Her heat squeezed him and he wasn't sure he would be able to hold on for long.

"You are beautiful. You feel so fucking good," Draco moaned resting his head beside hers and laying kisses on her neck.

"Oh Draco, don't stop. Right there."

He lifted her hips up slightly and was able to penetrate even deeper. Hermione's hips rocked against his, meeting him thrust for thrust. He sat back slightly and allowed his eyes to watch her body writhe in pleasure as he slid in and out of her. Her hand came down between her breasts, stroking her stomach, and sliding between her folds, right above where their bodies met. She moaned even loader as her fingers rubbed small circle over her clit. Draco felt like he might explode from the pleasure of watching her touch herself.

"Hermione… I… Oh… I don't… know if I can… hold on." He was finding it harder and harder to speak.

She opened her eyes and locked with his. Her hand quickened its pace on her clit, while the other gripped her breast.

"Draco… I'm…"

She felt her stomach tighten and then lights burst around her as she was pushed over the edge. She cried out, calling his name. He thrusts three more times before she felt him twitch inside of her. He cried out her name and leaned over her, locking her lips with his in a sensual kiss that spilled all of his feelings as she felt him pulse inside of her, with her, as he spilled his warm seed. He continued to pump in and out of her slowly until both of them were completely down from their high. Instead of pulling away, he collapsed on top of her, wrapped his hand around the side of her neck and kissed her until she was completely breathless.

He pulled away and rested his forehead on hers.

"That… was incredible," he whispered.

"It was perfect."

He kissed her again slowly and pulled away, tracing her lips with his thumb.

"I…" he trailed off.

"What is it, baby."

He smiled at the use of his favorite pet name.

"I… think… no. I know… I am head over heels… in love with you." He watched her face worriedly; afraid she would get freaked out.

Instead, her face erupted in the biggest smile he'd ever seen on her and pulled him down for a kiss. When she broke away she smiled up at him.

"I love you too."

He couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by it all and finally pulled out of her, collapsing beside her. He grabbed his wand and muttered a quick scourgify before pulled her into his arms.

"Can we stay like this all day?" he asked into her neck where his face was buried.

"I don't have any plans."

"Good. I just want to hold you."

"I love you, Draco Malfoy," she whispered and kissed his neck.

"I love you, Hermione Granger."

And with that they both fell into a restful sleep, worn out from their activities.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione tip toed out of the bathroom and back towards the bed. Just as she was coming around the end to her side she startled as a voice range out.

"I could get use to you walking around naked."

Her hand flew to her chest and she looked over at Draco, who was lying on his side with his head propped up on his hand. She smiled and crawled back on the bed towards him. His eyes glazed down her nude form as she cuddled up next to him. He pulled the blankets back up over her and then slid his hand under them to wrap around her waist.

"You're gorgeous," he whispered against her neck, pulling her body flush against him.

"You are quite beautiful yourself, Mr. Malfoy."

He turned his head to kiss behind her ear and she hummed at the feeling. He smiled at her before releasing her and sliding onto his stomach, resting his head on his arms.

"How do you feel?" she asked him.

"I'm perfect. Quite a bit less tense than I was this morning," he said smirking at her.

"You were tense?"

"Of course, the love of my life walked away from me. Why wouldn't I be tense?"

She smiled and pushed the blankets back down. They slid over him, revealing his naked body.

"It's cold, love."

She smiled at him before swinging a leg over and straddling his waist. He groaned and put his face down in his arms.

"Something the matter?" Hermione purred.

"I can feel your heat. If I wasn't worried about how sore you would be, I'd take you again right now."

Hermione smiled at his back and gently placed her hands on his shoulders. Slowly she began to massage. She could feel the knots in his shoulders and the curve of his back from being stressed. She slowly massaged each one, with gentle groans and murmurs of appreciation from Draco. When his entire body was completely relaxed and she had massaged away the last knot she ran her nails down his back. His head shot up and he glanced over his shoulder at her. His eyes were dark. She leaned forward placing her hands on either side of his waist and lifted herself up off him slightly. He rolled over, not jostling her, and she gently sat back on him, pressing her center along him, not letting him penetrate. His eyes rolled slightly and he moaned.

"What is it, Draco?" she smiled deviously down at him.

His eyes were a dark grayish blue instead of the normal silver. Draco's hand slid up her thighs and rested on her hips. He pressed her down slightly on him and groaned at the feeling.

"Sweet Merlin…" His voice was barely a whisper and his breathing was a bit more ragged.

She leaned forward so their faces were only an inch or so apart.

"Do you feel better?"

"Yes. Thank you, babe. Feel free to do it any time." He smiled at her as she rocked against him gently.

His breathing caught in his throat and his mouth dropped open slightly. Hermione gently sucked his bottom lip into her mouth and his fingers dug lightly into her hips. She quickly lifted herself up and then slid him completely in her in one quick motion. Draco pulled away and let out a loud groan, gripping her hips hard, and scrunching his eyes closed.

"Are… are you ok? I can stop." Hermione thought he looked like he was in pain.

"N-No. I just… don't want to… disgrace myself." He took a few deep breaths before opening his eyes and laying a gentle kiss on her lips. "You are unbelievable. You almost had me come undone with one move."

She smiled at him and pushed herself up, so her hands were resting on his hips. She slowly started moving again, watching Draco's face as it started to relax. His eyes were locked on her body as his hands began tracing up her stomach to her breasts, and back down. She rolled her hips in a circular motion and he groaned. He lifted his hips to meet her thrusts, stroking her body with his long, strong fingers. She leaned back, placing her hands on his thighs, and continued to rock her body. His eyes got wide as he saw her display her body in such a manner. He could see where they were joined, her body opened to him. She tossed her head back and moaned again. She felt the familiar spring in her stomach tighten. Draco reached forward and ran his fingers down her stomach to her core and started rubbing circles on her clit.

"Oh… Draco don't… please… I love you!" She screamed the last one as her body exploded against him.

She continued to rock against him as her body convulsed.

"You are so tight. I can't… Oh, Hermione!" His stomach tightened and she felt him twitch in her.

He suddenly sat up, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a searing kiss as her body milked him to completion. When they finally came down, he laid his forehead against her chest and she ran her fingers through his hair. He rolled them over and curled her body up to his, legs tangled, arms around each other's waists, looking down into her eyes.

"For never having done this before, you are quite good at it, love."

"Well, I have to make sure to please my man or he'll go somewhere else for it."

Draco shook his head and cupped her chin with his hand.

"I will never go anywhere else."

"Yeah?"

"I love you. Now go to sleep. You wore me out. I need a nap."

She smirked at him, but cuddled up and went to sleep.

* * *

><p>At dinner time the couple decided it was time to go grab a bite to eat. Hands intertwined, they walked into the Great Hall. Whispers erupted across the room as they walked towards their table. Draco leaned over and kissed the side of her neck and then her cheek before squeezing her hand a final time and making his way over to the Slytherin table.<p>

Hermione walked over and took her seat next to Harry and across from Ron and Ginny. She started putting food on her plate unaware of the stares. As she brought a spoonful of potatoes to her mouth she stopped as she noticed her three friends watching her closely.

"What?"

"Don't you look absolutely frisked," Ginny said smirking at her.

"Oh, shush." Hermione took a bite of food as Harry started laughing.

"Harry James Potter, what are you laughing at?"

"Ginny's right. You look… what did you say, Ginny? Frisked? Yeah, that." Ginny and Ron both nodded at her.

"Well thank you for pointing it out. Can we not talk about my appearance?"

"The school has been in an absolute buzz about the Slytherin Sex God stealing the heart of the Gryffindor Princess," Ginny said as Hermione blushed at the "Sex God" portion.

"Mhmm," Ron laughed at her reaction.

They all went back to eating and talking about what the other three had done throughout the day that Hermione was locked in her room. Once they were done, Hermione excused herself from the others to go back and work on the Prefect schedule she had to turn in the following day, Sunday. She winked at Draco, who smiled back at her and turned back to his plate of food. Just as she neared the main doors to the Great Hall, two girls stepped in front of her. Daphne and Astoria Greengrass.

"Excuse me," Hermione said flatly.

"There is no excuse for you," Daphne sneered.

"Move out of my way now."

"Or what, mudblood?" Daphne said stepping closer.

"Tell us, filth, what did you do to our poor Draco to make him pretend to be in a relationship with the likes of you?" Astoria said glaring at Hermione.

"I didn't do anything to him."

"I doubt that. Our family has been friends with the Malfoy's for years and they would never let someone with filthy blood like yours to tarnish their blood line."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the two girls.

"It's true Granger. Don't get all huffy about it. Purebloods marry purebloods and Draco has been promised to Astoria since childhood."

"Promised to Astoria? We're talking arranged marriages now?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"That's how it works in our society. They'll fall in love eventually. What's not to love about my darling sister? She's perfect for him in every way."

"Minus the whole, he chose me thing?" Hermione snipped back.

"The only way that Draco is with you is if he hasn't told his parents."

Hermione's confidence level faultered as she realized they were right.

"Ah. Did you see that Daphne. The Malfoy's don't know about her. How sad? Poor little mudblood is going to have her heart broken as soon as they hear. Draco will choose family over her in a heartbeat."

Hermione's jaw clenched and she felt her eyes burn with unshed tears. The two girls grinned at her.

"Are you going to cry, mudblood?"

Hermione pushed passed the two girls and out the door.

* * *

><p>Draco threw his bag down on the couch in the common room and looked around for Hermione. The last he had seen her was when she winked at him leaving the Great Hall. It was an hour later and he had spent the time with Blaise and Pansy before excusing himself to spend the rest of the evening with Hermione.<p>

He glanced into her room and saw it empty and did the same with his. Then he heard the water running in the bathroom. He smiled to himself before going into his room and stripping out of his close and wrapping a towel around his waist. He pushed into the bathroom, which was filled with steam. He reached the shower and slid the door open. To his shock, Hermione was curled in the corner with her knees up to her chest, arms wrapped around them, and head resting on her knees.

"Baby?" Draco asked quietly.

She lifted her head and looked up at him. Her eyes were swollen from crying. He instantly dropped the towel and stepped into the shower, closing the door behind him. He pulled her up in front of him and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"Baby, what's wrong? What happened?"

She held onto him like her life depended on it. Draco rubbed her back gently and whispered soothing words in her ear until she finally loosened her hold a bit. He pulled back and looked down at her.

"What happened, love?"

"What happens when you tell… your parents about us?" Hermione refused to meet his eyes.

"What? What brought that up?" Draco was thoroughly confused as to what had her thinking of such a topic.

"I know that your line of thinking has changed, but I highly doubt that your family's has. Your father is at home on house arrest for his part in the war and your mother obviously supports him. You can't tell me that they are just going to accept me."

"What on earth made you think of this?"

"Answer me, Draco."

"Hermione, I haven't even thought of this yet. I don't know what to say."

"If they tell you to choose… you will choose them." It wasn't a question.

Draco studied her face carefully.

"Always you. Remember?" His voice was soft as he brushed his thumbs under her eyes.

"Always me. You'd choose me over your family? Over your inheritance? I'm aware that they can cut you off at any time, Draco."

"Is this really something you want to worry about right now?"

"We can't just make it go away. It's not going to."

"Ok. My father… I don't know how he is going to react. He has the old pureblood nonsense in his head, I admit. However, he is very aware of who won that war. He is aware of my actions at the end of that war. He is aware of how I feel now. He hasn't pushed it. My mother just wants me to be happy."

"So you don't think they will be a problem?"

"I'm not saying that there might be a confrontation regarding it, but it's my life now. I don't file orders anymore."

"Are you promised to Astoria Greengrass?" Hermione looked back down.

"Is that who put this nonsense in your head?" He lifted her chin up with his finger. "Our families are very old friends. My parents and everyone before them were married based on arranged marriages. Like I said before, I will not take orders. I will marry who I want to marry. I assure you, Astoria Greengrass is not my ideal woman. She's high maintenance, prissy, and just wants me for my money."

"She said you were promised to her. Is it binding?"

"I never asked. Either way, I will take care of it. I'm yours. Always yours, Hermione."

"You can't say always. You may change your mind."

He leaned in and kissed her gently. The kiss was so sweet it took Hermione's breath away. As he pulled back he gently pushed her back towards the wall. As her back pressed against it, he hooked his hands on her thighs and lifted her up. Her core pressed against his growing erection and she moaned lightly.

"Always you," he whispered as he slowly slid into her.

Hermione hummed against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned in and kissed her again as he slowly moved in and out of her. His lips traveled down her neck to the space right below her ear.

"You are the only woman to make me feel like this. The only one I want." His breath tickled her neck as he murmured the words against her skin.

"Draco…"

"I'll never want anyone else."

"Are you sure?" she barely got the words out before she groaned against him again.

"Positive. I love you. Merlin, I love you." His voice was getting more raspy.

"Don't stop."

"Never."

His thrusts sped up a bit as Hermione's body suddenly tightened around him and she cried out in ecstasy, her body spasming. Draco thrust a few more times before he felt himself twitch and then spill into her. His legs shook from the power of his orgasm and he gently slid out of her and placed her back on her feet. They quickly washed off and he wrapped a towel around her before they went back to his room and crawled into his bed.

Hermione laid on her back staring up at the ceiling. Draco lay on his side watching her quietly. He reached out and rubbed small circles on her stomach over the sheets.

"Talk to me," Draco said sliding closer to her.

"I'm just worried."

"About what?"

"I'm already way too emotionally involved with you. If this doesn't work out…"

"Hermione…"

"No Draco. If this doesn't work out… I'm not sure I'll be ok."

"This is going to work out. People change. I'm proof of that I think. I'd like to hope so anyway. Blaise and Pansy, they are totally on our side. Like I said, my mother just wants me to be happy. I don't know for sure about my father, but I'll work on him. They will love you just like I do."

"I want to meet them. Soon."

"Soon?"

"McGonagall talked about having a ball where the parents of the students could come to see that the school was back in order and that we were safe. Kind of, put to ease some of the worries. We can see if maybe your father could attend too."

"You want my parents to come to this ball?"

"Yes. "

"Why are you so worried about doing this now?"

Hermione looked away from him. "If we do it now, and they don't approve, its better that I find out now than months from now when I'm in deeper than I already am."

"You are one frustrating witch."

She turned her head and smiled at him. "But you love me."

"More than you realize apparently."

Draco pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist.


End file.
